American Wins Friends and Influence at the U.N.

By PAUL LEWIS, Special to The New York Times

Published: January 24, 1990

UNITED NATIONS, Jan. 23—
When Thomas R. Pickering, the United States representative here, started whispering into a portable phone during the Security Council debate on Panama last month, he reinforced the split image that many people have of him after his first year on the job.

As usual, he strode quickly into the Council session, his great height and gold glasses giving him an earnest air. And the cordless telephone he carries almost everywhere is his personal contribution to the job of representing the United States at the United Nations.

At one level it seems to symbolize the professionalism that he is credited with bringing to the post. But by suggesting that Mr. Pickering is kept on a short leash by his superiors, the phone is a reminder that he is a rarity, an American permanent representative to the United Nations who does not have a seat in the Cabinet, and only the second career diplomat to hold the job. The first was Charles W. Yost, who served under President Nixon.

Bush's Old Stamping Ground

Just why President Bush downgraded a post that he once held is unclear. Some say Secretary of State James A. Baker 3d insisted on it after hearing of the difficulties that former Secretaries had with past representatives. Others say Mr. Bush wanted to prevent Ronald Reagan from lobbying for the job for his daughter Maureen, who took part in the General Assembly session in 1988 as a member of the American delegation, and who was reportedly interested in the post.

Nevertheless, President Bush's choice of Mr. Pickering is seen as encouraging at the United Nations.

By giving the post to a respected Foreign Service professional, President Bush seemed to end the ideological confrontation of the Reagan years and to accept that the United Nations could play a useful role in global problems now that cold war tension is fading.

Mr. Pickering is praised for his mastery of the issues, his energy and his openness. ''When you deal with him even as a small country you find he has done his homework,'' said Dr. Chan Heng Chee, Singapore's representative. Yves Fortier, the representative from Canada, said, ''He often doesn't need to open his briefing book.''

'Pinching and Pushing'

''Pickering is on top of the United Nations agenda,'' said Prof. Lincoln P. Bloomfield of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. ''He understands the tricky problems it can help with.'' Professor Bloomfield, Director of Global Issues on President Carter's National Security Council, added, ''but he must keep pinching and pushing Washington to keep the faith.''

Such praise implies unhappiness with Mr. Pickering's predecessor, Vernon A. Walters, now the United States Ambassador in Bonn. Mr. Walters spoke a half-dozen languages, but was not thought to be a master of detail and traveled often on Presidential missions. ''Either he wasn't there or you saw your precious half-hour wasted on jokes and anecdotes,'' a United Nations representative recalled.

But while many welcome Mr. Pickering's technocratic approach, some regret the loss of that prestigious Cabinet seat and wonder whether he can do enough ''pinching and pushing'' in Washington without it.

'Pickering Is Terrific'

Edward Luck, president of the United Nations Association of the United States, shares that view. ''We think Pickering is terrific,'' he said. ''But we still want the Cabinet seat restored because it gives him more authority within the State Department.''

In particular, Mr. Luck thinks that a Cabinet seat strengthens the representative's hand in dealings with the Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs, the State Department official directly in charge of United Nations matters, and the official to whom Mr. Pickering reports.

''Traditionally the Republicans have used this job to pay off the extreme right, which doesn't like the United Nations,'' Mr. Luck said. ''That's why Pickering needs extra authority.''

John R. Bolton, the current Assistant Secretary, is a conservative who once worked for Senator Jesse Helms, Republican of North Carolina. Mr. Bolton praises many aspects of the United Nations, and last year the Bush Administration asked Congress to send the organization its full funding and to start paying off Washington's huge backlog of dues to the United Nations. Congress refused to do so.

No Suite or Limousine

While Mr. Pickering is praised by colleagues at the United Nations, they also note that he has suffered embarrassments in recent months at the hands of Washington's power brokers.

The State Department acknowledged his reduced status by removing the impressive sixth-floor office suite that his predecessors were given in Washington, as well as the personal limousine.

Mr. Pickering shrugs off the loss, although those close to him say he fought to retain the Washington office and car.

Sitting recently in the United States Mission on First Avenue, in a sunny room across from the United Nations, Mr. Pickering played down the loss of the Cabinet seat. ''The President told me he thinks I can do what he wants done here,'' he said. ''So I have his confidence. And when U.N. matters are discussed he invites me to the Cabinet, so what do I lose?''